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ActiveX Data
Objects (AD0) - an API from Microsoft that lets a programmer writing Windows applications
access a database.
autonomous
transaction - in Oracle's database products, an independent transaction that is initiated by
another transaction.
block - in some databases,
the smallest amount of data that a program can request.
B-tree - a method of
placing and locating files in a database.
catalog - a directory of
information about data sets, files, or a database.
commit - the final step in
the successful completion of a previously started database change.
CSV
file (comma-separated values file) - contains the values in a table with each column value
separated by a comma and each row starting a new line.
DAO (Data Access Objects) -
API available with Visual Basic that lets a programmer request access to an Access database.
data - information that
has been translated into a form that is more convenient to move or process.
data
availability - assurance that data continues to be available at a required level of performance
in any situation.
data dictionary - a
collection of descriptions of the data objects or items in a data model for the benefit of
programmers and others who need to refer to them.
data modeling
- the analysis of data objects and the identification of the relationships among these data
objects.
data mart - a
repository of data gathered from operational data and other sources that is designed to serve a
particular community of knowledge workers.
data mining - sorting
through data to identify patterns and establish relationships.
data
preprocessing - any type of process performed on raw data to prepare it for another processing
procedure.
data
scrubbing - the process of amending or removing data that is incorrect, incomplete, improperly
formatted, or duplicated.
data set - in an
IBM mainframe operating system, a named collection of data that contains individual data units
formatted in a specific way.
data source name
- a data structure that contains the information about a specific database that an ODBC driver
needs in order to connect to it.
data warehouse - a
central repository for all or significant parts of the data that an enterprise's various business
systems collect.
database - a collection
of data that is organized so that its contents can easily be accessed, managed, and updated.
DBA -
someone who directs or performs all activities related to maintaining a successful database
environment.
DBMS -
a program that lets one or more computer users create, manage, and access data in a database.
DB2 - a family of relational
database management system (RDBMS) products from IBM that serve a number of different operating
system platforms.
DDBMS (distributed database
management system) - a centralized application that manages a distributed database as if it were
all stored on the same computer.
distributed
database - a database whose components are stored on multiple computers within a network.
field - a location for a
single piece of data in a database.
FileMaker - a
relational database application known for being easy to use and for its ability to serve Web pages
dynamically.
flat file - a database
model that stores data in text files that can only be accessed sequentially.
foreign key - a key that
targets a primary key in another table.
E. F. Codd - IBM programmer
responsible for developing the conceptual framework for the relational database and SQL.
HOLAP
- hybrid online analytical processing, a combination of ROLAP and MOLAP.
Java Data Objects
- an API that enables a Java programmer to access a database implicitly, without having to make
explicit SQL statements.
Java Database
Connectivity (JDBC) - an API specification for connecting programs written in Java to the data
in popular databases.
JOLAP (Java Online Analytical
Processing) - a Java API for J2EE for data in an online analytical processing (OLAP)
application.
metabase - a database for
storing metadata (data that describes data) for a specific purpose.
MOLAP (multidimensional
online analytical processing) - online analytical processing (OLAP) that indexes directly into a
multidimensional database.
mySQL - an open
source relational database management system that uses SQL.
normalization - a
multi-stage process of organizing data into tables in such a way that the results of using the
database are always unambiguous and as intended.
OODBMS
(object-oriented database management system) - a DBMS that supports the modelling and creation of
data as objects.
OLAP (online analytical
processing) - computer processing that enables a user to easily and selectively extract and view
data from different points-of-view.
ODBC
(Open Database Connectivity) - open standard API for accessing a database.
operational data
store (ODS) - a type of database often used as an interim area for a data warehouse.
pivot table - a
program tool that allows you to reorganize and summarize selected columns and rows of data in a
spreadsheet or database table to obtain a desired report.
PL/SQL - a procedural
language extension to SQL used to combine database language and procedural programming
language.
primary key - a key
in a relational database that is unique for each record, used to identify a particular
record.
quad tree - a method of
placing and locating files in a database.
query - a request to a
database for information, or to update, modify, or delete information.
relational
database - a database organized as a set of formally-described tables from which data can be
accessed or reassembled in many different ways without having to reorganize the tables.
RDBMS
(relational database management system) - a program that lets you create, update, and administer a
relational database.
ROLAP
(relational online analytical processing) - a form of OLAP that performs dynamic multidimensional
analysis of data stored in a relational database.
rollback - the undoing
of partly completed database changes when a database transaction is determined to have
failed.
row - a group of fields in a
database table organized to contain all the information relevant to a specific entity.
schema - the organization
or structure for a database.
splay tree - a
self-adjusting search algorithm for placing and locating files in a database.
SQL (Structured Query
Language) - a standard interactive and programming language for getting information from and
updating a database.
SQLJ - a set of programming
extensions that allow a programmer using the Java programming language to embed statements that
provide SQL database requests.
TSQL - programming
extensions that add several features to SQL including transaction control, exception and error
handling, row processing, and declared variables.
table - in a relational database,
a data structure that organizes the information about a single topic into rows and columns.
tree
structure - an algorithm for placing and locating records in a database.
UDA
(Universal Data Access) - a model or framework for a single uniform API to different software
makers' databases.
VLDB (very large
database) - sometimes used to describe databases occupying magnetic storage in the terabyte range
and containing billions of table rows.
view - a temporary
organization of data drawn from one or more tables to enable a specific perspective.
To learn more, see our guide, Learn IT: Unleashing the Power of the Database.